The Role of Nationalism in the Changing Shape of EuropeNationalism became a powerful force in 19th Century Europe, sparking revolutions across the continent.New nations such as Germany and Italy were formed along cultural lines.Nationalist movements forever changed the political landscape and the balance of power in Europe.
IntroductionWhat is your definition of Nationalism? Why is it important? What is the role of Nationalism in the growth of society? What does Nationalism look like in the United States today? Are there cultural indicators that exemplify what is truly American? Think about the words and symbols we associate with being American. For instance, one thing that comes to mind is "$" - this is a symbol of our currency, and the dollar is, to me, a truly American thing. Complete the following worksheet, brainstorming other words/symbols of "Americanism" and try to come up with the three most American characteristics/symbols. Explain each and why you believe it to be among the top three.
What is so symbolic about this image? What traits of "Americanism" can be seen?
Incidentally, where have you seen this before? (Hint - $)
Based on your previous work...How would you classify these characteristics/symbols? What is their significance to the "American" way of life? Are there other possible ways to understand or classify Nationalist sentiments? How can we identify universal characteristics of Nationalism? Read the three excerpts below, and make a list of the similarities you find among them. These similarities will be a good start to trying to figure out the key elements of Nationalism.
In 1870, Italian troops entered Rome in a final effort to unify Italian-speaking people into one nation, free from foreign rule and under their own central government. This effort had begun in the 1830s and continued through the liberal European revolutions of 1848. For the next twenty years, leaders such as Count di Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi negotiated and fought to gain control of territory ruled by Austria, France, and the Catholic Church. By 1866, the Italians had gained control of all territories except for the Papal States, which were controlled by the Pope and protected by French troops. When war broke out between the Prussians and the French in 1870, the French were forced to withdraw their troops from the Papal States, and the Italians gained control of the final territory and completed the unification of Italy.
In 1898, a group of Chinese rebels, angered by the steady takeover of the Chinese empire by foreigners and Chinese Christians, began attacking Christian missionaries and others in the northeastern part of the country. The “Boxer” uprisings, as they were called, resulted in the deaths of hundreds of foreigners and Chinese Christians. Although the Boxer rebels were officially denounced by the royal court, they secretly gained support from some people, including the Dowager Empress Cixi, in the palace of the Qing dynasty. In 1900, the Boxers laid siege to foreigners in the Chinese capital at Beijing. After months of assault, a relief army of German, British, American, French, Japanese, and Russian troops moved in and took control of the city. A peace treaty signed in 1901 required the Chinese to pay for the failed rebellion.
After the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and a civil war, a group of conservative Mexicans encouraged Napoleon III of France to intervene in the government of Mexico. The conservatives were unhappy with the liberal program that President Benito Juárez had been pushing. Encouraged by France, Maximilian von Hapsburg of Austria took over the throne of Mexico in 1864. However, he did not live up to the conservatives’ hopes. He supported some of Juarez’s liberal policies that had been installed before his reign. Despite this support, Juárez, the former president, rejected the idea of a foreign emperor and organized a resistance movement. When Napoleon III withdrew French troops in 1867, Maximilian was captured and executed. Juárez returned to power in December, 1867.
After compiling your list, share in groups of four to come up with a more comprehensive list of similar characteristics of Nationalism. Apply that list to the following excerpts and decide whether these situations are examples of Nationalism or non-examples of Nationalism. Explain your rationale.
By the 1900s, the feminist movement was encouraging legal and economic gains for women in various parts of the world. Women campaigned to have the right to vote and the right to higher education, as well as equal access to divorce and child custody. Although the movement was peaceful in some countries, in Great Britain Emmeline Pankhurst led a more militant suffrage movement that included several attention-getting disturbances, such as planting bombs, smashing windows, and arson. Pankhurst and many other suffragettes went to prison in the first part of the twentieth century. In 1928, women in Great Britain received the right to vote on the same basis as men.
From 1899 to 1902, the British and the Boers fought over territory and resources in South Africa. The Boers, descendants of Dutch settlers from the 1600s, distinguished themselves by speaking Afrikaans, a language derived from Dutch. In the early 1850s, the Boers founded the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, two republics in the interior of South Africa. After diamonds were discovered in the Orange Free State in the 1860s, more and more British citizens settled in South Africa. In 1899, the Boers declared war against the British. The war resulted in a loss for the Boers, but it paved the way for British decolonization in South Africa and rule by the Boer minority over the African majority.
In 1912 and 1913, the countries of the Balkan Peninsula engaged in two wars. During the nineteenth century, when Turkish power in the empire declined, the Balkan countries had won independence from the Ottoman empire. The Slavic people of Serbia, who had gained independence in 1878, wanted to make their country the center of a large Slavic state in alliance with Russia. However, not all Balkan nations were in agreement with Serbia in this matter. In addition, Austria, which had a large Slavic population in the southern part of their empire, did not want Serbia to gain control of the Slavic regions. The two wars resulted in territorial gains for the Balkan countries but did not completely satisfy them. The tension on the Balkan peninsula during these wars was a precursor to the tensions that later sparked World War I.
After examining these situations, what kind of agreement can we come to in regards to the key elements of Nationalism? Does this look like something you came up with? Examples of Nationalism - The Unification Process Click the link to watch the interactive map. Take notes as you watch using the graphic organizer provided.
What about the map above is different from a map of Europe today?
EUROPE ca 2010
Italy Unifies On your own, research the history of Italian Unification and write a one-page summary that includes the following: Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Garibaldi Post-Unification Challenges
The link above will take you to an interesting project to digitize a "unique survival of a form of public art that was prevalent throughout the nineteenth century." Take a look at this moving panorama and explore the history behind this linear painting and the extraordinary effort on behalf of the Brown University Library to digitize such a fascinating artifact
What was the role of Nationalism in the unification of Italy? If Mazzini formed Young Italy, what would happen in the event of a Young Europe? What would you believe the goals of a group so named might be?
Connect the French Revolution and Italian Unification.
Germany Unifies Once again, do some autonomous research to discover and summarize the history of German Unification, and be sure to include the following: King Wilhelm IV Otto von Bismarck The Growth of the German Economy
Why do you think German nationalists looked to Prussia for assistance in unification?
Summarize the similarities between the post-unification foreign policy of Italy and that of Germany.
What sorts of attitudes did these countries share? What impact did Nationalism have on the new governments' foreign policies? Utilize information from your research and from your text (pages 319 and 321-322).
Now read from your text and take notes on the impact of Nationalism on Austria, the Ottoman Empire, and Hungary (Pages 325-329). You may either write summaries for each of the three sections OR take notes in a graphic organizer like the one below:
What do the newly unified countries have in common???
While in Germany and Italy, newly unified peoples sought to expand their territory and build an empire based on their Nationalist sentiments, the results of the Congress of Vienna left many multi-ethnic groups under the control of empires that could no longer contain Nationalism among the people.
Think back to where we started studying the history of modern Europe. When we looked at the events leading up to the French Revolution, what was the backbone of the Revolution? What were the main causes of the uprising of the Third Estate?
The ideals behind the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen were rooted in Enlightenment thinking. The notion of individual liberty led to the desire of the lowest classes to shed the bonds of servitude and oppression, and as those liberties were achieved the desire for independence and freedom spread. No longer could old monarchies and dynasties expect to silence the voice of the people at will. As Revolutionary fervor grew through successes in some countries, the goal of individual liberty had evolved into a sense of national liberty, where Nationalism drove peoples with a shared culture, religion, language, history, and land to seek autonomous rule within their own sovereign nation. Why are we studying this today? Because that sense of Nationalism has played a role in changing the map of the world for the past two centuries. Even the textbook recognizes this! Take a look at the Montenegrin rally featured on page 328.
This is a rather big idea, and encompasses many understandings that you have come to through studying the content in this class. In order to deepen this understanding, let's look at one more major Revolution. Try to keep in mind the things we have looked at so far in order to form in your head a more complete picture of the world at the time.
Unrest in Russia Take a look at this video to preview the next series of popular uprisings (don't worry, you can stomach all the middle school students they talk to!). Write a summary of what you watched.
We have already seen Russia involved in uprisings in the Ottoman Empire. What is the difference in their own situation?
Read the inside story about the assassination of Czar Alexander II on page 330. What perspective is this story told from? Why is The People's Will called a terrorist group?
Read about the Czars from 1825 to 1917. As you read, take notes in a chart like the one below. Under "Reforms" explain what, if any, changes to the government and society were made. Under "Reactions" explain what, if any, reactions to the will of the people or to the demands of the Russian population the Czar had.
Read about the expansion of the Russian Empire and the conflict with Japan. Write a one paragraph summary of War and Revolution. How does what you read compare to the domestic policies of the Czars?
Examine the painting below. What do you notice about the painting? Does anything stand out? What is the artist's Point of View (both his physical perspective and his view of this event)? It is titled Death in Snow. Is the artist trying to make a point or statement with this title?
Read the following excerpt from Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. This novel is considered by many to be one of the greatest ever written. It combines three kinds of material: an actual history of the Napoleonic Wars, biographies of the many different fictional characters, and essays in which Tolstoy attempts to formulate laws of History. Do you think there are any "laws" of History? Do other classes you take have "laws" that you learn about? English? Physics? Chemistry?
“Come on let’s argue then,” said Prince Andrew. “You talk of schools,” he went on, crooking a finger, “education and so forth; that is you want to raise him” (pointing to a peasant who passed by them taking off his cap) “from his animal condition and awaken in him spiritual needs, while it seems to me that animal happiness is the only happiness possible, and that is just what you want to deprive him of. I envy him, but you want to make him what I am, without giving him my means. Then you say, ‘lighten his toil.’ But as I see it, physical labor is as essential to him, as much a condition of his existence, as mental activity is it to you or me. You can’t help thinking. I go to bed after two in the morning, thoughts come and I can’t sleep but toss about till dawn, because I think and can’t help thinking, just as he can’t help plowing and mowing; if he didn’t, he would go to the drink shop or fall ill. Just as I could not stand his terrible physical labor but should die of it in a week, so he could not stand my physical idleness, but would grow fat and die. The third thing—what else was it you talked about?” and Prince Andrew crooked a third finger. “Ah, yes, hospitals, medicine. He has a fit, he is dying, and you come and bleed him and patch him up. He will drag about as a cripple, a burden to everybody, for another ten years. It would be far easier and simpler for him to die. Others are being born and there are plenty of them as it is. It would be different if you grudged losing a laborer—that’s how I regard him—but you want to cure him from love of him. And he does not want that. And besides, what a notion that medicine ever cured anyone! Killed them, yes!” said he, frowning angrily and turning away from Pierre. What is Prince Andrew's view of the Russian Serfs? Do you think this an accurate picture of how the upper-class in Russia viewed Serfs? Why or why not?
One law of History that Tolstoy argued was that History is not a result of major decisions by great men, but is the sum total of all the little decisions made by ordinary people.
Read the attached document and mark it up. This is Czar Nicolas II's October Manifesto, issued in response to the unrest in Russia. Following Bloody Sunday, the Czar gave in to demands of striking workers and protesting citizens by issuing this document.
Using the Manifesto as evidence, write a paragraph that takes ONE of the following positions: A) History is a result of the major decisions of great people B) History is the result of the sum total of all the little decisions made by ordinary people
Since your task is to take a position, you should create a thesis to respond to this prompt. Under NO circumstances should you use first person.
IntroductionWhat is your definition of Nationalism? Why is it important?
What is the role of Nationalism in the growth of society?
What does Nationalism look like in the United States today? Are there cultural indicators that exemplify what is truly American?
Think about the words and symbols we associate with being American. For instance, one thing that comes to mind is "$" - this is a symbol of our currency, and the dollar is, to me, a truly American thing. Complete the following worksheet, brainstorming other words/symbols of "Americanism" and try to come up with the three most American characteristics/symbols. Explain each and why you believe it to be among the top three.
What is so symbolic about this image? What traits of "Americanism" can be seen?
Incidentally, where have you seen this before? (Hint - $)
Based on your previous work...How would you classify these characteristics/symbols? What is their significance to the "American" way of life?
Are there other possible ways to understand or classify Nationalist sentiments? How can we identify universal characteristics of Nationalism?
Read the three excerpts below, and make a list of the similarities you find among them. These similarities will be a good start to trying to figure out the key elements of Nationalism.
- In 1870, Italian troops entered Rome in a final effort to unify Italian-speaking people into one nation, free from foreign rule and under their own central government. This effort had begun in the 1830s and continued through the liberal European revolutions of 1848. For the next twenty years, leaders such as Count di Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi negotiated and fought to gain control of territory ruled by Austria, France, and the Catholic Church. By 1866, the Italians had gained control of all territories except for the Papal States, which were controlled by the Pope and protected by French troops. When war broke out between the Prussians and the French in 1870, the French were forced to withdraw their troops from the Papal States, and the Italians gained control of the final territory and completed the unification of Italy.
- In 1898, a group of Chinese rebels, angered by the steady takeover of the Chinese empire by foreigners and Chinese Christians, began attacking Christian missionaries and others in the northeastern part of the country. The “Boxer” uprisings, as they were called, resulted in the deaths of hundreds of foreigners and Chinese Christians. Although the Boxer rebels were officially denounced by the royal court, they secretly gained support from some people, including the Dowager Empress Cixi, in the palace of the Qing dynasty. In 1900, the Boxers laid siege to foreigners in the Chinese capital at Beijing. After months of assault, a relief army of German, British, American, French, Japanese, and Russian troops moved in and took control of the city. A peace treaty signed in 1901 required the Chinese to pay for the failed rebellion.
- After the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and a civil war, a group of conservative Mexicans encouraged Napoleon III of France to intervene in the government of Mexico. The conservatives were unhappy with the liberal program that President Benito Juárez had been pushing. Encouraged by France, Maximilian von Hapsburg of Austria took over the throne of Mexico in 1864. However, he did not live up to the conservatives’ hopes. He supported some of Juarez’s liberal policies that had been installed before his reign. Despite this support, Juárez, the former president, rejected the idea of a foreign emperor and organized a resistance movement. When Napoleon III withdrew French troops in 1867, Maximilian was captured and executed. Juárez returned to power in December, 1867.
After compiling your list, share in groups of four to come up with a more comprehensive list of similar characteristics of Nationalism.Apply that list to the following excerpts and decide whether these situations are examples of Nationalism or non-examples of Nationalism. Explain your rationale.
After examining these situations, what kind of agreement can we come to in regards to the key elements of Nationalism? Does this look like something you came up with?
Examples of Nationalism - The Unification Process
Click the link to watch the interactive map. Take notes as you watch using the graphic organizer provided.
What are your expectations in terms of what we are going to study from here on?
What about the map above is different from a map of Europe today?
Italy Unifies
On your own, research the history of Italian Unification and write a one-page summary that includes the following:
Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Post-Unification Challenges
Visualizing the Risorgimento: The Heroic Life and Career of Garibaldi
The link above will take you to an interesting project to digitize a "unique survival of a form of public art that was prevalent throughout the nineteenth century." Take a look at this moving panorama and explore the history behind this linear painting and the extraordinary effort on behalf of the Brown University Library to digitize such a fascinating artifact
What was the role of Nationalism in the unification of Italy? If Mazzini formed Young Italy, what would happen in the event of a Young Europe? What would you believe the goals of a group so named might be?
Connect the French Revolution and Italian Unification.
Germany Unifies
Once again, do some autonomous research to discover and summarize the history of German Unification, and be sure to include the following:
King Wilhelm IV
Otto von Bismarck
The Growth of the German Economy
Why do you think German nationalists looked to Prussia for assistance in unification?
Summarize the similarities between the post-unification foreign policy of Italy and that of Germany.
What sorts of attitudes did these countries share? What impact did Nationalism have on the new governments' foreign policies? Utilize information from your research and from your text (pages 319 and 321-322).
Now read from your text and take notes on the impact of Nationalism on Austria, the Ottoman Empire, and Hungary (Pages 325-329). You may either write summaries for each of the three sections OR take notes in a graphic organizer like the one below:
What do the newly unified countries have in common???
While in Germany and Italy, newly unified peoples sought to expand their territory and build an empire based on their Nationalist sentiments, the results of the Congress of Vienna left many multi-ethnic groups under the control of empires that could no longer contain Nationalism among the people.
Think back to where we started studying the history of modern Europe. When we looked at the events leading up to the French Revolution, what was the backbone of the Revolution? What were the main causes of the uprising of the Third Estate?
The ideals behind the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen were rooted in Enlightenment thinking. The notion of individual liberty led to the desire of the lowest classes to shed the bonds of servitude and oppression, and as those liberties were achieved the desire for independence and freedom spread. No longer could old monarchies and dynasties expect to silence the voice of the people at will. As Revolutionary fervor grew through successes in some countries, the goal of individual liberty had evolved into a sense of national liberty, where Nationalism drove peoples with a shared culture, religion, language, history, and land to seek autonomous rule within their own sovereign nation. Why are we studying this today? Because that sense of Nationalism has played a role in changing the map of the world for the past two centuries. Even the textbook recognizes this! Take a look at the Montenegrin rally featured on page 328.
This is a rather big idea, and encompasses many understandings that you have come to through studying the content in this class. In order to deepen this understanding, let's look at one more major Revolution. Try to keep in mind the things we have looked at so far in order to form in your head a more complete picture of the world at the time.
Unrest in Russia
Take a look at this video to preview the next series of popular uprisings (don't worry, you can stomach all the middle school students they talk to!). Write a summary of what you watched.
We have already seen Russia involved in uprisings in the Ottoman Empire. What is the difference in their own situation?
Read the inside story about the assassination of Czar Alexander II on page 330. What perspective is this story told from? Why is The People's Will called a terrorist group?
Read about the Czars from 1825 to 1917. As you read, take notes in a chart like the one below. Under "Reforms" explain what, if any, changes to the government and society were made. Under "Reactions" explain what, if any, reactions to the will of the people or to the demands of the Russian population the Czar had.
Read about the expansion of the Russian Empire and the conflict with Japan. Write a one paragraph summary of War and Revolution. How does what you read compare to the domestic policies of the Czars?
Examine the painting below. What do you notice about the painting? Does anything stand out? What is the artist's Point of View (both his physical perspective and his view of this event)? It is titled Death in Snow. Is the artist trying to make a point or statement with this title?
Read the following excerpt from Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. This novel is considered by many to be one of the greatest ever written. It combines three kinds of material: an actual history of the Napoleonic Wars, biographies of the many different fictional characters, and essays in which Tolstoy attempts to formulate laws of History. Do you think there are any "laws" of History? Do other classes you take have "laws" that you learn about? English? Physics? Chemistry?
“Come on let’s argue then,” said Prince Andrew. “You talk of schools,” he went on, crooking a finger, “education and so forth; that is you want to raise him” (pointing to a peasant who passed by them taking off his cap) “from his animal condition and awaken in him spiritual needs, while it seems to me that animal happiness is the only happiness possible, and that is just what you want to deprive him of. I envy him, but you want to make him what I am, without giving him my means. Then you say, ‘lighten his toil.’ But as I see it, physical labor is as essential to him, as much a condition of his existence, as mental activity is it to you or me. You can’t help thinking. I go to bed after two in the morning, thoughts come and I can’t sleep but toss about till dawn, because I think and can’t help thinking, just as he can’t help plowing and mowing; if he didn’t, he would go to the drink shop or fall ill. Just as I could not stand his terrible physical labor but should die of it in a week, so he could not stand my physical idleness, but would grow fat and die. The third thing—what else was it you talked about?” and Prince Andrew crooked a third finger. “Ah, yes, hospitals, medicine. He has a fit, he is dying, and you come and bleed him and patch him up. He will drag about as a cripple, a burden to everybody, for another ten years. It would be far easier and simpler for him to die. Others are being born and there are plenty of them as it is. It would be different if you grudged losing a laborer—that’s how I regard him—but you want to cure him from love of him. And he does not want that. And besides, what a notion that medicine ever cured anyone! Killed them, yes!” said he, frowning angrily and turning away from Pierre.
What is Prince Andrew's view of the Russian Serfs? Do you think this an accurate picture of how the upper-class in Russia viewed Serfs? Why or why not?
One law of History that Tolstoy argued was that History is not a result of major decisions by great men, but is the sum total of all the little decisions made by ordinary people.
Read the attached document and mark it up. This is Czar Nicolas II's October Manifesto, issued in response to the unrest in Russia. Following Bloody Sunday, the Czar gave in to demands of striking workers and protesting citizens by issuing this document.
Using the Manifesto as evidence, write a paragraph that takes ONE of the following positions:
A) History is a result of the major decisions of great people
B) History is the result of the sum total of all the little decisions made by ordinary people
Since your task is to take a position, you should create a thesis to respond to this prompt. Under NO circumstances should you use first person.